Questions raised about viability of halftime show in NY/NJ

Of the many concerns about next year’s Super Bowl in New York/New Jersey, there are now doubts as to whether there can even be a halftime show because of the unpredictability of winter weather.

With the halftime entertainment becoming a spectacle in recent years (we’ve come a long way from Al Hirt, marching bands or Up With People), it requires hundreds of shock-troop roadies to get the elaborate stages set up and broken down in time for football to resume.

The New York Post reported yesterday, citing an unnamed “planning official,” that there’s no plan at the moment for what the show might look like, if it is held at all.

“It’s because of the cold weather,” that source said. “It’s not only the acts and the singers but [also] the crews that have to put the stage together. You know, the assembly has to be done a certain way. It’s choreographed and rehearsed so it can be assembled and disassembled as fast as possible. And you just can’t assemble the stage and break it down fast enough in the cold.”

But the Newark Star-Ledger countered with another source of their own, this one “with intimate knowledge of the Super Bowl XLVIII planning process,” that no decisions are close to being made.

Their report said there have been no discussions “about surrendering the highly-anticipated halftime show because of logistical concerns due to the weather.”

Frankly, it’s hard to believe that with a year to plan for a worst-case scenario, there can’t be a stage show designed to be executed in a blizzard. A Led Zeppelin reunion featuring “Immigrant Song” (“We come from the land of ice and snow”) would be particularly inspired.

The bigger question is whether there needs to be one in-stadium.

It would be a letdown for 70,000 or so on the premises, but the halftime show exists in its current form to prevent counter-programming on television for the rights-holder. So if some huge musical act was booked for a nearby arena in New York, and that show was beamed into America’s living rooms via the miracle of television, the number of people impacted would be statistically insignificant, perhaps so much so that the show is deemed not worth the bother.

Just move the Super Bowl to a warm city or one with a dome. Having the Super Bowl outside in New York is a joke. Miami has to build a canopy on their stadium because it rained during the 2007 Super Bowl but this New York game could have snow or freezing rain. How is that acceptable?

I actually thought Beyonce was not that bad, but maybe it’s just that Madonna and the Black Eyed Peas lowered the bar so much that she seemed not that bad. I’d rather see a rock band though, and that would work well since they wouldn’t require all the lights, etc. that a pop star does. Then again I wouldn’t be opposed to just scrapping it all together, who needs it?

And do what for 40-50 minutes? You gotta figure 10 minutes to assemble and another 10 minutes to disassemble the stage, plus 20 minutes for the show itself. How do you keep the fans in the stadium entertained for that period of time?

My guess is the NFL will set up a show at a nearby enclosed arena and broadcast it on the jumbotrons in MetLife Stadium.

They won’t get rid of the show but I do think the idea of having it in another place makes a ton of sense for all super bowls. The time the halftime show takes is getting to be too much. After set up and break down and a performance in the middle it’s taking way to long…..why not live stream a performance from a band in another setting that is set up and ready as soon as it goes to half? 10 minute performance, commercial, idiots break game down, commercial and back to game. 20 minutes tops.

Wow, already the foolishness of selecting an opened Northern venue is becoming apparent. How much would an indoor 12 minute concert in a NY/NJ arena cost compared to a 50 yard line game ticket? Instead of a half time concert, perhaps a 12 minute fireworks spectacular that will generate enough heat to defrost the 70 thousand fans in the stadium?

Why can’t they think outside the box for a halftime show. Who said it always needs to be a singer? Looking across the highway from my office building at Metlife Stadium, with an inch of snow from last night, gave me the inspirational thought that perhaps we should get Tonya Harding out of retirement and have some sort of ice capade or fight to the death as is her nature.

Oh please!!! Other than the fact that most football fans could care less about the halftime show, this is not something to be so concerned about. I am sure that the people responsible for planning the event know what they are doing and will be well prepared to deal with any bad weather that may arise. It may mean that they plan a smaller show from the start or that they have a contingency plan for a scaled back show should the weather become an issue. Either way, this is a long way off, so I seriously doubt that any decisions have been made yet. There no doubt will be some type of halftime show and I would pretty much guarantee that potential weather issues will be taken into account in its planning.

I agree scrap the show. All it does is make an already over bloated game that’s stuffed with extra commercials, even longer. For what? I really really doubt anyone watches the game solely for the 1/2 time show

I am hoping they will not have a half time show, then find out that no one misses it.

One other alternative – give us some of the college marching bands that used to be a part of the college bowl game experience, but has now been preempted by preening talking heads talking about highlights from other bowl games that I did not care to watch in the first place.

One of the reasons the half time is 30 mins is to allow for the stage and the canned “audience” to be setup and broken down. If they move the halftime off site, they could drop in the 15 min performance, and shorten the half time back to what it should be.

Invite all the organized crime families in NY & NJ to present their own skills competition.
It would be representative of the host area and be a truly unique spectacle with little or no staging required.

And do what for 40-50 minutes? You gotta figure 10 minutes to assemble and another 10 minutes to disassemble the stage, plus 20 minutes for the show itself. How do you keep the fans in the stadium entertained for that period of time?

My guess is the NFL will set up a show at a nearby enclosed arena and broadcast it on the jumbotrons in MetLife Stadium.

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Do what most everyone else does that attends a pro football game… gets out of their seats to go buy more beer, relieve themselves, or both. I’ve never understood why halftime in the Superbowl needs to be 30-45 minutes when halftime for all other games for the season is only 15 minutes. No halftime show? Fine with me.

And for all of you people complaining about it being outdoors in the cold? Please. What are you, baseball fans? Football has always been played in the cold/rain and it makes perfect sense to have the Super Bowl outside where it’s a possibility. Don’t like it? Don’t buy tickets. There are plenty of people in line behind you that would gladly take your spot and happily sit in the cold to attend a once-in-a-lifetime opporrtunity.

Since it is in the giants and jets hometown state of new jersey, in a swamp next to a highway….. oh wait I forget where I was going with that. Probably because it is in NJ. Oy. Just make it a snowball fight.

How about the halftime show all together. I mean it just gets worse and worse. Why not actually spend halftime hi lighting the the first half and talking about the second half? And going to the store to get more beer.

The most successful halftime entertainment at CenturyLink are the annual weinerdog races…and they run rain or shine. Weinerdogs v. a singing and dancing extravaganza? I’d forego heading to the kitchen to build a sandwich to watch the dogs every time.

Seriously…40+ minutes of variety show crap smack in the middle of a football game? Let them play.

At $1,250 face value for SB tickets, there will be a halftime show. There has to be. A good portion of any SB attendees don’t even know which teams are playing in the game! Seriously. Next time you’re at the game, go talk to people sitting between the 30 yard lines. Ask someone, “Quick, who’s playing??” They will struggle to answer – especially if they’re wearing a full length fur coat. All those see-and-be-seen people are more interested in the halftime, so there has to be a show.

Staging the half-time show at the Prudential Center would be a genius move. The NFL could charge an additional 20,000 fans to watch the half-time show live and the Super Bowl on video screens. If they can find a good alternate parking site, the Izod Center would be a great choice as well and make the area a huge Super Bowl party.

If it’s going to be as bad as the last three have been, then yes, please scrap it.

Seriously though, there’s no reason it can’t be done in N.Y./New Jersey, and if the NFL were smart, they would find someone halfway decent to perform instead of another putrid disposable pop act. Not really a big fan, but seeing how it’s in New Jersey, maybe they should get Bon Jovi to perform. The music will at least be tolerable and parents won’t have to cover their children’s eyes.

Who really gives a rip about the lame show? It’s a joke. Everyone is out taking a whizz or a dump and getting more beer and snacks.

Here’s an idea: Since the show is usually prerecorded and lip-synched anyway, why not shoot it ahead of time in a studio and just play it on a big screen for everyone at the stadium and at home? Logistical problem solved.
All they’d need to do is install a big temporary, multi-sided Jumbotron before the game for the folks at the stadium and play the tape for the folks at home. No muss, no fuss.

Just put the show somewhere else… I’ve been to a Super Bowl and unless your in front and close you can’t see anything anyway. MetLife holds 80,000 seats, if 15,000 could actually SEE the halftime show I’d be surprised

Next year’s halftime show has to either be Bon Jovi or Bruce Springsteen. Probably Bon Jovi because of his ties to the NFL.

Please be informed that roadies can get the job done in 30 or 40 degree weather. Please stop with the severe cold weather which is non-existent in the northern NJ / NYC area. It’s called a jacket. Wear one. Problem solved.

I’m all for killing the uber-halftime shows that have been thrust upon us over the years. They’re a ridiculous distraction to the football game.

However – here’s one I could get behind: I’d rather watch a good stand-up comic do a 20 minute routine that some over-hyped “musical talent.” Put John Pinnette or Larry the Cable Guy or Bill Engvall or Ron White out there for a 15-20 minute routine, keep halftime under a half-hour and be done with it.

Wow, we just can’t do squat any more… The country that used to be able to do anything now can’t contemplate halftime entertainment in cold weather. Maybe the halftime entertainers could wear coats or something? And doesn’t New York hold gigantic parades during the winter? There’s no lessons that could be learned from that?

Other than all the glitter and lights this year I really didn’t think too much of the show as being great or even good for the matter. Why all the fireworks and light show etc.? Why not just the national drum and fife group (yes, soliders, like in military) march onto the field, some short formation, then a few great American songs, like America the beautiful, and some other historical song as a tribute to ALL of our military in their honor? Then they march off and no stage, no setting up of props and we get it on with the game.

The Super Bowl halftime should not be any longer than a normal NFL halftime. The entire halftime show concept should be scrapped, and the halftime should be filled with stuff that normal halftimes are. This is a football game, not a variety show book-ended by 2 halves of football. The NFL needs to pull its head out its rear end, stop kowtowing to pop culture moguls and get the hell back to football.